T H E-W O R L D-O F-M Y-H E A R T
by Nicole Fang

pairing: FujixRyoma/Thrill Pair

rating: T (warning will move up as the chapters increase with all kinds of delicious tension)

summary: Ryoma, Fuji, and different guardians of different worlds are suddenly brought together by an evil, ancient power. Will Fuji and Ryoma be able to deal with their attraction even as they are targeted for death?

Author's Before Note: Why such small updates? I dunno. Hopefully they'll increase though, because I hate giving such short chapters. -_- Also, this fic is mainly Thrill Pair, but it will also focus on the development of the others along with their relationships. :D Enjoy!

Chapter One

Go Ahead

The sounds of erotic creatures echoed throughout the jungle. The air was peaceful, a picture of a surreal world where every type of fantasy creature was alive and moving. All around the planet, creatures of different varieties slinked in and out of the shadows, coming and going in a daily ritual. The creatures weren't the only wonderful sights to be seen though. A diverse number of plants colored from a million kinds of rainbows shone brightly in the white light of the sun. Sparkling water in the forms of streams, rivers, and waterfalls flowed smoothly, not a trace of hesitation in their graceful movements.

That being said, there were also places of great chaos and death. In the darkest depths of the trees and undergrowth lay creatures meant for only nightmares, full of sharp teeth covered in crimson, disgustingly ugly skin, and cunning minds. This was a part of the world where no sunlight touched, where the species took "Survival of the Fittest" to a whole new level. You smiled when you killed.

And one creature was doing exactly that, lifting is mouth from a bloody corpse to smell the wind, excitement thrumming through the air.

"New prey."

And the breathed words from its mouth made its smile widen.

His head hurt and something heavy was on him. That was Kikumaru's first groggy notion when he found himself awake. A tranquil black was filling his thoughts, making it hard for him to come up with a better process of contemplation. He struggled not to let it oppress him; something in the back of his head was shouting at him to get up. He was supposed to be looking out for something - but fuck, this calming sensation just made him want to fall asleep…

Kikumaru frowned, trying to shake the heaviness from his head. What was it that he had been thinking about again?

There was this need for him to get up, to do anything, but so far, his eyes had yet to open. Were those lids of his always this heavy? He pondered the answer inside his head. Then he noticed something strange. Why couldn't he move? Something was pinning him down, overpowering him. He started to struggle.

It groaned a pained sound at him, and Kikumaru froze in his thrashing. That voice sounded familiar… He just couldn't place where he remembered it from.

"Eiji, watch out!"

A faint memory stirred somewhere in the back of his head. A guy his age… Kikumaru's eyes popped open. "Oishi!" Kikumaru willed his aching limbs to move, wincing when he felt his spine pop back into place. His partner had pushed him out of the way of an attack, and then everything went fuzzy after that. It was all he could remember.

He flexed his fingers for a moment, getting used to the painful numbness, as he moved his head to look over his shoulder. Of course, he flinched away not a second later when he saw his partner's sleeping face near his.

"Oishi?" he questioned, a lot softer now. This time, he struggled but only to turn around and hug the other guardian, his eyes going dull for a second. He lost track of how long he stayed there, clutching his partner to his chest, but he snapped out of his daze when he felt Oishi start to stir. The redhead relinquished his grasp on the other, scooting back as Oishi sat up.

He watched silently as the other guardian sat on his knees, one hand going to his head. Oishi released a moan of pain. Only then did Kikumaru remove his gaze from his partner to look around – simply to be struck with distress. He took in the thick trees with a petulant frown. Where were they?

"Eiji?" his partner whispered, hand still holding his head. One eye was blearily open, peering around the place like Kikumaru was doing at the moment. "Where are we?"

"Hmm," Kikumaru said, sounding slightly confused and very disgruntled. "I don't know, Oishi. You're the smart one of us, you tell me!" He looked back at his partner, watching as the other man continued to examine the place around them without answering. He gave a particularly loud sigh and put in a great effort to try and stand on his wobbly legs. "Are you good enough to walk?" Oishi nodded, seemingly absentmindedly, as he stood – and would have promptly collapsed if not for the fact that Kikumaru caught him before he came even close to hitting the ground. The redhead caught the grimace of throbbing pain that echoed off the expression on the other's face.

Surprised, Oishi put one of his arms around his partner's shoulders without a second thought, as Kikumaru pouted. "Great! Just great!" he whined, starting to walk with the extra weight. "Of course you broke an ankle or something. And now I'm stuck with all the work!" He gave an exaggerated sigh for dramatic effect as he limped. He immediately regretted the words ever coming out of his mouth; he knew Oishi was already feeling bad.

"Sorry," came the whisper in reply. Kikumaru shrugged off the uncomfortable feeling that accompanied the small silence between the words. He gave another sigh, this time breathing out gently.

"It's fine," he muttered, lips pressing together. He pulled the guy along, trudging down a path only visible in his imagination as the silence between the two expanded from seconds into minutes.

Well, this isn't all too bad, Kikumaru mused silently, I'm getting feeling back in my legs, finally, and the sun is getting brighter as we move through this place. We have to be walking into an open space of some sort.

Still, it was straining. The redhead probably already had injuries he had pushed out of his mind to keep moving, and the bruises from the attackers were starting to ache. He let out a steady breath, concentrating on putting one foot in front of another. He pondered with a sardonic mind how the tables had been reversed. Normally it was Oishi who supported him, but when they arrive in a new world, of course it would be Kikumaru to support them. He didn't like the thought of this ironic karma; it made chills run down his back and, not to mention, put him in a bad mood.

He stopped suddenly, his blue eyes glancing around. He called out a, "I don't like being followed, nya! Come out if you have the guts to face me!" as his free hand went to where his sword lay sheathed. The reply was a dark chuckle that had goose bumps rising under the cloth he wore.

"The cute kitty is mad," a low voice murmured, carried by the wind – well, it could have been, but there wasn't any wind. The redhead narrowed his eyes, his sword drawn in a flash. He swung his partner in his arms, using his strong leg muscles to carry him to a nearby tree. He set Oishi down, not meeting the worried eyes of the other guardian.

"I don't like being tailed," Kikumaru practically hissed back at the shadowed figure hiding in the trees, imaginary hackles rising. His sword started to twist around his wrist, a sure sign that he was serious, as his other arm flexed the muscles. He would have to ignore the aches - he was already at a disadvantage as it was.

He knew, as he charged at the figure, the burning desire to help from Oishi. That was how Oishi was, always so kind and caring of him. That's what he liked about his partner. Kikumaru hadn't liked it at first at the training camp for new guardians – he wasn't a baby! – but as time coursed its path and humans moved on and passed away, the resentment faded into something like admiration, and Kikumaru soon looked forward to his rounds around the camp area with the other. The feeling of trust only strengthened between them when they were assigned to be partners in a world far different than their own. Oishi almost never yelled at his partner, and always took care of both Kikumaru and his own injuries. He always made Kikumaru feel so useless!

That was why, this time, Kikumaru was going to be the one to do the protecting.

The creature met him head on, and Kikumaru dodged the long, razor-sharp nails as they swiped at him. Another cackling laugh filled the air as he twisted in the air, landing a foot on the creature and pushing as he dropped to the ground once more. The monster flew to the left, crashing into a big tree with a thunk. His pupils dilated within the blue, the air around him tensing as his muscles got ready to defend. He spotted a hand grasping at the edges of the bark, long fingernails digging into the tree; the creature was pulling itself out.

His blue eyes narrowed even more when the creature walked out of the dust-filtered air, looking not the worst for wear. Its body was tall, but covered in what looked to be thick skin and coarse hair. Its hands were large and black, covered in scales, with those horrible abominations called fingernails. And its face… Kikumaru held the shudder back, just barely. Wrinkles everywhere – there were wrinkles everywhere, with a tiny nose and mouth with jutting, yellow teeth. But that wasn't the most disconcerting thing. It was the thing's eyes that made Kikumaru feel sick. Human eyes…very much like his own. So cat-like, and much too cunning. It was bloodcurdling almost, seeing a reflection of his eyes but not his face.

Its mouth widened, it knew what he was looking at. "Have you noticed already?" it asked him slyly, the sound guttural. "Have you noticed your eyes on me?"

"What are you?" Kikumaru asked instead, lips pressing in a straight line.

"I think you should be asking that to yourself," it purred back. This time, he couldn't stop the tremble in his body. Of course, it picked this up and gave another witch laugh.

"Damn you!" he hissed, and flew at it in a rage. He only realized two seconds later that he had been lured into a trap. Crying out when he was slammed into the ground half a second later, Kikumaru locked his jaw shut as those ugly hands closed tightly around his windpipe. He refused to gasp for air in front of this thing! Another tremble shot through him. The thing leaned down to him as the edges around his vision grayed.

"Do you know how I have your eyes?" it murmured, curling breath in his ear. Kikumaru struggled to stay conscious as he felt the dark pull of oblivion.

"Eiji!"

That voice was calling to him again. His heart lightened at the sound, battling more furiously at the silent black that was creeping over his vision. He couldn't let that voice, so full of worry, down. He had promised himself…

Kikumaru gasped for air and bucked his lower body, throwing his opponent off with the element of surprise. He gasped for air again, lungs working hard to bring the much needed oxygen into his system. One hand went to rub at where a new bruise would form as his other hand tightened around his sword. The redhead's eyes unconsciously went to look quickly at where his partner was lying. Oishi had started to crawl towards him, but was at a standstill in the moment. Oishi's eyes shown relief, and Kikumaru's heart squeezed.

He turned back to where the monster was getting up and a feeling close to resentment ran through his veins. Same eyes be damned, Kikumaru was taking this bastard down! His sword started to transform.

Not giving it a chance to get up, he appeared just above it, sword now in the form of a glove with sharp claws. It raised its eyes, horrified, right when Kikumaru shoved the claws deep into its head, landing on the dirt and shredding it apart. His blue eyes looked coldly at it as the body hit the ground, blood pouring viciously onto the soil. He twitched when a voice reached his ears.

"Eiji!" Oishi was crawling toward him again, Kikumaru noted, the cold draining out of his body. He fell on his butt, sword dropping in its original form, as he grinned at his partner. Oishi was running himself over with worry. "Are you okay?"

"Mm!" He nodded fiercely, giving a beaming smile. "Just let me rest here for a second. My legs are numb again," he admitted sheepishly. Oishi suddenly looked ticked off and punched him on the arm. Hard. Kikumaru yelped and grabbed his triceps, casting a wounded look over to his partner. "Why did you do that?"

"You idiot! Making me worry like that!" Oishi raged, falling on his butt too. He turned away from Kikumaru, presenting his back to the redhead.

Kikumaru got alarmed when he saw his partner's back trembling. "Oishi?" he asked worriedly. "Nya! Hey! What's wrong?" The trembling only got more frantic, until suddenly, Oishi was throwing his head back…and laughing.

Huh?

"I'm confused," Kikumaru admitted. "Why are you laughing?" Oishi turned back to him, a very bright smile on his lips. The redhead blinked.

"I'm laughing, because you're you," Oishi said, adding more confusion. "Now come on, let's go. We have to get to the waterfall." Kikumaru watched as Oishi attempted to stand again, catching his partner as he leapt to his feet. He put his partner's arm around his shoulders again and started walking.

"Oishi! What the hell does that mean?" Kikumaru whined, before going stock-still. Then he questioned hesitatingly, "Waterfall?" as if he couldn't believe it.

"Can't you hear it, Eiji?" Oishi's smile widened even more. "There's a waterfall somewhere past there." He pointed to the lighter trees in front of them.

"Water… Here we come!" Full of energy at the prospect of water, Kikumaru brought Oishi into his arms as he started running to the source of noise suggesting a beautiful waterfall.

Momo had never been in such a fucked up situation. Sure, there had been times when he had this same thought running through his head, but this one had to take the cake. Not only that, but Kawamura seemed to be missing.

He didn't know where the hell he was and if he did, his memory was getting old on him. He thought he had all the places in his world memorized to even the last speck of dust.

It was a forest, or maybe even a jungle, that surrounded him. The trees were tall like all the trees were in his world, but there was this certain quality to them that made them seem very different as they towered over him. He frowned as he took a look around, sharp eyes taking everything in critically.

There were more exotic plants in this one area than there were in his world alone, and the sound of a roaring waterfall in the distance made him think of the silent, graceful rivers back home. Never had he heard such a loud water way. There was just no way this was his world.

He stepped around a tree, trying to distinguish which way was north and south, when he saw something glinting in the leaves. It was well covered, but not enough for the suns' rays to rebound off them into his eyes. His eyebrows lifted when he realized it was a sword, and bent down to grab it-

"Fssshhhuuu. Hey, you! Don't touch that!"

-before jerking back in surprise at the hissing voice. Momo looked around wildly, hoping to spot this… viper guy, but couldn't find anyone. He gave a confused blink. He didn't imagine that…did he? He took an experimental step towards the sword again, looking around warily. He was again surprised by the furious hiss.

"Viper, where the hell are you?" he spoke out loud, curious purple eyes trying to pin point where the sound came from.

This time, leaves rustles in agitation, and a hand came out of a pile of vegetation. Momo couldn't stop his eyebrows from shooting up to his hairline as he watched a very scary looking guy sit up from the shrubs, a disgruntled and somewhat pained expression on his face.

"Don't call me Viper, bastard," the guy hissed at him, and Momo's eyebrows furrowed in a clear sign of irritation.

"We don't even know each other, 'Viper'," he mocked back at him, starting a 'see who can hit each other with the most daggers-from-the-eyes' competition with the guy. He commanded, "Stop being so judgmental!"

"And you're not?" the guy shot back, clearly growing angry with him.

"It's not my fault you look and sound like a stupid viper, Viper!" Momo couldn't control his voice volume, yelling, and some bird-like things scattered out of the trees to take flight from the noisy area. They cawed at the two men arguing, clearly annoyed, as they left. The two on the ground took no notice.

"Haa?" the guy asked back lowly, furiously, as an angry pulse starting to form over his temple. "You-!"

"Kaidoh." Their argument was interrupted by another man walking from behind a set of trees. Momo stiffened – he hadn't heard him coming at all. He stared at the new arrival, along with Viper – now also known as Kaidoh from what the man said. "Stop picking fights all the time," the other man chastised gently, eyes and glasses not moving from the paper and pen in his hands.

Momo watched the interaction warily, waiting for either to make a move. His eyes turned to…Kaidoh…whose furious green eyes had turned to the other man.

"Inui, get my sword away from that bastard," Kaidoh hissed out. "I don't want filthy hands touching her." The purple-eyed man refused to bristle at the comment, clenching and unclenching a fist.

"I can't see why you can't do it yourself," Inui replied, finally looking up. His glasses glinted in the sun that poured down through the trees. Were they partners? Momo wondered to himself. However, a small part of him was quickly overruling the thoughtful side of him, and he wasn't able to control his words.

"Yeah, Viper," the testosterone male in him decided to put in, "Get off your lazy ass and do it yourself."

This seemed to anger the other. Kaidoh seemed to turn a more furious red, his head visibly shaking. It was like watching a fire spread throughout an abandoned town – alarming, but kind of entertaining as you thought of how to get rid of the fire. The anticipation made Momo shift forward, hoping for a physical fight. Something just rubbed him the wrong way when it came to this Viper person.

"Fssshhu-!"

"There's a seventy five percent chance that Kaidoh is stuck, and doesn't want to get up in risk of being embarrassed," Inui sprouted off suddenly. Trying to contain the somewhat surprised blink, Momo was able to spot the very faint blush that appeared right below Kaidoh's eyes, and ended up loudly, gleefully chortling. Inui rounded on him not a second later.

"And you," Inui said, pointing his pen at Momo, "There's a ninety three percent chance that you're in the same boat with us. You're from another world, aren't you? When you woke up, you looked too confused and walked around to see if anything was familiar after gathering your bearings. I doubt someone shipped you here into the middle of a forest without you noticing."

Momoshiro narrowed his eyes at Inui, a strange glint lighting his eyes. Unbidden, questions of how Inui had caught on so quickly came to his head as his hand moved to the sword that lay resting in its sheath on his hip. There was reason to be wary now more than ever.

He was in a strange place, with two strangers who were unbearably observant. The strangers were carrying swords of their own, and knew how to use them judging from the toned muscles and scars located in and on their arms. Momo was stupid, but not stupid enough to know that he would be at a major disadvantage without the help of his partner, Taka. Where was that muscle head, anyway? Not only did Momo have to worry about himself, he had to think of a solution to get him and Taka back together.

Was this a lose-lose situation, or what?

"Calm down, idiot," Kaidoh muttered, shifting on the ground. Probably trying to pull himself off of whatever got him stuck in the first place, Momo merrily thought even as his hand rested on the handle of his sword. "If we were trying to trap you, we would have done so when you were snoring loudly… Fshh."

Huh. It was strange how true that was, even with the stuck-up hiss priss being the one to say that.

"We forgot to introduce ourselves," Inui murmured suddenly. He gave a polite bow, "My name is Inui Sadahara. The guy stuck on the ground is Kaidoh Kaoru. Nice to meet you."

"Ah," Momo blinked, giving a bow in return. "My name is Momoshiro Takeshi, but everyone calls me Momo," he said, ignoring the "You sure everyone doesn't call you idiot?" from Kaidoh. Ignore the rage, Momo, ignore it. You are far better than that.

"How'd you end up here, anyway?" Inui asked, a furrow appearing between his eyebrows as he thought of something only he could think of. Momo stopped the shivers of instinctual horror. Something about Inui screamed sadistic…

"Well…" Momo trailed off, not sure how to start the story. It was very complicated to think of, after all. How did one say that they were in an earthquake and then five black blobs came out, fought them, and ate them alive? Not only was that a mortifying experience, it destroyed his masculine pride. He asked instead, "How did you end up here?"

Inui started writing. "Hm, Momoshiro Takeshi has a lot of pride."

"Pfft. Idiot."

Author's Ending Note: I wonder how I'm going to further develop that Golden Pair…I want to keep them like they are. LOL. They're so cute together! X3 I won't tell you about what that thing was going to say to Eiji yet, because it'll most likely come again in the future. I'm going to try and tie everything up in this story, so be prepared to look for small foreshadowing scenes.

Originally, I was going to stop before the part where Momo comes in, but then I just decided against it. I'm kind of…jittery. I wanted to skip to Fuji and Ryoma. XD Speaking of the next part… the next chapter for this fic will be…in the far future. I have to concentrate on gift fics since two of my favorite peoples' birthdays are coming up. So it'll be more than a month away. :c Sorry!

Oh, and please shrug off all the mistakes that are and will be present throughout the fic. I…don't have a beta reader for this fandom. Heh…

Please tell me what you think! Review please!